As I’ve been going through media from quite some time back, it’s made me realise a few things about the why and how I record stuff. A recent post from wickednatalie mentioned what she saw as the virtue of ‘live’ listening and that’s something I’ve been thinking about too, albeit from the recording aspect. It might be worth mentioning that I’ve had a very voyeuristic nature from quite an early age, but virtually all of the early stuff was visual.
Apologies for talking about visual stuff on here, but think it’s relevant to my sound stuff too. Most of my visual stuff was not recorded on to any media, but I did write quite detailed accounts of some experiences. I would also use little ‘stick’ illustrations for some too. Nearly all of the visual experiences, live or recorded, were without sound, but I still loved them. I was able to video some and again without sound, but I still like to look back at it. It’s different for me though, if the visual stuff is from the Internet. Firstly it has to seem totally real and not faked, but if there’s no sound it has to seem extra special, or I’m not interested.
I’m not sure when I started recording sounds, but I think I do know why. Mostly it seems to be for a couple reasons. Firstly the chance of hearing it live hardly ever happened, or wasn’t totally convenient when it did (I’ll mention one such example later). Also, sadly I’ve never stayed in hotels or B&Bs much and even sadder I’ve heard anything when I have. Each time though, I do find myself listening out. A second reason for why recordings, is simply because I realised I had opportunities, but also had a life to get on with, so couldn’t be hanging about on the off chance. I also loved the fact of listening to any recordings I’d made, to see if I’d caught anything. The moment of hearing a hint is always a big thrill. I imagine this must be the case for listening live too.
I’ve managed to work out a bit of my history from the bits of sound I have found so far. It started out on cassette with a Sony Walkman, or if at home with a cassette deck. The limitations here are obvious and that’s with only 45 mins of recording time, chances of catching anything if you just left it going were slim. Although, one such unattended capture has been posted in Neighborsex under ‘Home Alone’. Other good recordings I did make while I was in the vicinity, seem to have gone missing. I think this is due to the fact I thought I’d better put them somewhere ‘safe’. The upside of this though, is that while searching for any by listening to all the mostly unlabelled media I have, has meant that I have found some stuff I didn’t know was there.
To overcome the 45 min limit of cassettes if left unattended at home, I discovered that by using VHS in long play it afforded 6 hours. So far I don’t know if any of these still exist, as my VHS player is not working. I am going to sort it, but haven’t got round to it yet and probably won’t for a while. Going back to the ‘Home Alone’ recording though, it made me start to wonder why it was on cassette, as I’d started using VHS by then. I realised the answer was simple and down to priorities, as I had obviously set the timer to record some TV I wanted to watch later. I think this reflects the fact that many unattended recording offered nothing after listening through six hours of nothing. The VHS became less than viable when a partner moved in, so it was briefly back to cassette.
The next media I used was portable DAT and it offered two big advantages over cassettes. One was the fact it was digital and the second was the fact it recorded up to two hours in one go. Unfortunately, like the cassettes, the recordings I seem to remember making must be hidden away in that ‘safe’ place, or may even have been inadvertently thrown out! I still have quite a few tapes to check out, but so far have found two that have stuff on them that I didn’t realise was there. Neither has been posted yet, but will be eventually. Looking back through the DATs though, has also made me think about the archive quality of media that matters. This is because the ‘Digital Out’ on the DAT no longer seems to work any and ‘Line Out’ is on the dodgy side too. Apart from sex sounds I may still find, I have quite a lot of gig stuff that I don’t want to lose, so I’m hoping to transfer it before the deck gives up the ghost.
The next phase of recording was on a portable Sony minidisc and that was one of the most prolific phases. Like the previous media formats I mentioned, I can’t find much of it, but have found some previously unknown stuff. The recording limit for the original minidisc was then about 80 mins if I remember correctly, but this increased to hours with a later HiMD Walkman recorder that I purchased for theatre work. The extra length of recording and increased chance of capturing something made me think about opportunities again. This brings me to a live experience I had and again, a recording I’ve discovered that I had no idea I had.
I was at home alone in the back garden, on a hot sunny Sunday afternoon, when I unexpectedly caught what I thought was the sound of sex. As always there was the immediate buzz and within minutes there was no doubt it was full on sex. It was coming from an upstairs open window next door and was no more than 2 metres from where I was. The house next door is multi-let and the room was occupied by a girl of about 18/19. The afternoon was calm and quiet, so the sound was clear and loud. However, the enjoyment wasn’t total, because as I listened I became aware that if my partner, or the neighbours from the other side came out, they would clearly hear it too. This thought in the back of my head lessened the enjoyment to some degree, but I was having more thoughts too, as I was wondering what I had missed in the past!
This thought inspired me to wander out back later, when it was dark. The window was still open and the light was on with the curtains open too, but I didn’t have any opportunity to listen for any sounds. It wasn’t long before my partner was out too, asking why I was out there so late. After telling her it was for a breath of air, I went in before she noticed the open window. She wouldn’t approve of any eavesdropping activity. It was quite frustrating sitting inside, wondering if I was missing a another session between the girl and her bf. The obvious answer was recording, but standing there and recording was not an option. The following day The following night I put a minidisc outside recording for two hours. I must have forgotten about that disc and the day after making the recording I left for a holiday.
When I got back from holiday the window was still open, so I did a few more recordings. After listening to these I realised the girl and her bf had split up, also I never caught her enjoying any solo time. About a week later she moved out, so the opportunity disappeared. Looking back I realise I probably missed many opportunities. It makes me think of the phrase ‘Window of Opportunity’ and in terms of listening/recording I have been at the end, or missed quite a few. That’s why now, with my newly awakened interest, I’m on the lookout for any that may crop up. Apart from missing opportunities, my sound recording history has also varied a lot due to changes in circumstances. Like work commitments and partners who wouldn’t be sympathetic for example.
As a post script I have recently discovered the recording of the girl next door I made before going on holiday. Amazingly I did catch something on it and will post in due course.
Thoughts on how and why recording
- sonar
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Re: Thoughts on how and why recording
Wow!
This essay inspirating me to write my story.
This essay inspirating me to write my story.

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Re: Thoughts on how and why recording
thanks for your long posting, I read it completely. I also bought a sony mini disc back then but never used it for recordings. My first recordings were made in 2007 with a mobile phone, they were recordings of a roomate of mine. Later on, I bought a Olympus LS3 because it was recommended to me by the community and I am very satisfied with it. I hope you can find some of your old recordings and post it on this board.
"I must take my hat off in admiration for those intrepid aural lovers, who risk sleep deprivation, reputation, liberty, and life itself (perhaps) to capture the sounds that are posted to this website." © Forum-Member 'Soundbite'